Can This be the Day?

A Day to Stand Up and Be Counted!

Today, Spurs face Chelsea in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge with a lunch-time kick-off, with the game shown live on BBC television. Can this be the day when Spurs make an impression on closing the gap between them and the top sides?

Spurs defeated Chelsea at White Hart Lane in the the Premiership in November, but can they get the upper hand in this cup tie?

Will this match return to the norm of the past decade and a half with Chelsea able to do as they like and sterp into the semi-final? Will Spurs put up a brave, heroic fight but just lose out?

It's time for Spurs to show they want to do it in these 'big' games. They go into the game in a rich vein of form having turned around the disappointments of January and after five consecutive wins their confidence is high. Berbatov is showing the form and class that made Spurs sign him last summer and his strike partners are reaping the benefits. Martin Jol appears to have finally settled on a midfield partnership which shows some balance and is working together in a much better way, both offensively and defensively.

Hope springs eternal and with Spurs it needs to but the cloud that has dulled that optimism was the news that Paul Robinson and Robbie Keane will both miss the match through injury. They join Jermaine Jenas who was injured last weekend at West Ham and long term injury victim , Ledley King. This is a massive blow, at a time when things were looking up for Spurs.

Radik Cerny is an experienced player although he has had few opportunities with Spurs and presumably Jermain Defoe will partner Berbatov.

Chelsea are expected to be without John Terry and that is a major loss to them but with their resources and experienced reserves Mourinho will be able to re-arrange his team.

If Spurs are looking for inspiration - they need look no further than the history of Tottenham Hotspur and its past heroes.

11th March 1995

FA Cup 6th Round Liverpool 1 Spurs 2 Sheringham, Klinsmann

11th March 2001

FA Cup 6th Round West Ham United 2 Spurs 3 Rebrov (2), Doherty

11th March 2007

FA Cup 6th Round Chelsea ? Spurs ?

Inspiration from the past, a foreign international player to provide the inspiration, a 6-year cycle of overcoming the odds and a chance to move closer to Wembley which seems almost certain to host this year's Final, now that the contractors have handed the keys over to the Football Association.

Is this to be Dimitar Berbatov's day?

COYS